Knit boxer shorts

ABSTRACT

A knit boxer short having a concealed fly formed from a knit fabric having a major direction of stretch, comprising a rear panel of fabric, a pair of front panels of fabric and a facing panel of fabric. All the panels of the fabric have a laterally oriented major direction of stretch. The front panels are joined along an exterior side thereof to the rear panel and joined along a central side thereof to one another, with the joined central sides of the front panels having an unjoined portion defining an internal fly opening. The facing panel is joined to the front panels along the vertical edges thereof and overlies the internal fly opening in the front panels. One vertical side of the facing panel is unjoined along a portion thereof to define an external fly opening.

United States Patent 1 King [ Oct. 29, 1974 [75] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl. 128/159, 2/224 A [51] Int. Cl A4lb 9/02 [58] Field of Search 2/238, 224 A, 224 R, 225,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,736,036 2/1956 Sinigagliesi 2/224 A 3,354,880 11/1967 Coughlin et al. 2/224 A 3,441,022 4/1969 Severson et al 2/224 A Primary Examinerl-l. Hampton Hunter Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Hume, Clement, Brinks, Willian, Olds & Cook, Ltd.

[5 7 ABSTRACT A knit boxer short having a concealed fly formed from a knit fabric having a major direction of stretch, comprising a rear panel of fabric, a pair of front panels of fabric and a facing panel of fabric. All the panels of the fabric have a laterally oriented major direction of stretch. The front panels are joined along an exterior side thereof to the rear panel and joined along a central side thereof to one another, with the joined central sides of the front panels having an unjoined portion defining an internal fly opening. The facing panel is joined to the front panels along the vertical edges thereof and overlies the internal fly opening in the front panels. One vertical side of the facing panel is unjoined along a portion thereof to define an external fly opening.

I 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures was an 3l844l282 PAIENIED m a a FIG. 6

KNIT BOXER SHORTS The invention relates to a knit boxer short having a concealed fly opening.

More particularly, the invention relates to a knit boxer short having a facing panel that overlies an internal fly opening of the short. The facing panel is joined to the short along vertical edges thereof with one vertical edge having an unjoined portion to form an external fly opening. The knit boxer short is formed from panels of fabric having a major direction of stretch with the major direction of stretch being laterally oriented on the panels.

The concealed fly opening in the knit boxer short results in a garment having a neat appearance which provides full concealment for the wearer. The lateral orientation of the major direction of stretch in the fabric permits the boxer short to provide firm support while being able to yield with the body movements and expansions of the wearer. As a result, the present invention results in a garment which provides firm support and which is comfortable to the wearer.

The present invention contemplates a boxer short formed from a fabric having a major direction of stretch that comprises a rear panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch and a pair of front panels of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch. The front panels are joined along an exterior side thereof to the back panel and are joined along a central side thereof to one another. The joined central sides of the front panels have an unjoined portion defining an internal fly opening. A facing panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch is joined to the front panels along vertical edges thereof and overlies the internal fly opening in the front panels. One vertical side of the facing panel is unjoined along a portion thereof to define an external fly opening.

Preferably, the boxer short includes a shaped pouch section of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, with the pouch being joined along the front panels and facing panel and along the back panels to form a crotch in the short.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from a review of the detailed description and the drawings. One form of the invention is demonstrated in the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a knit boxer short embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the knit boxer short shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the knit boxer short of FIG. 1, partially cut-away to show the fly opening in the knit boxer short;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the knit boxer short of FIG. 1, partially cut-away to show the fly opening in the knit boxer short;

FIG. 5a is a sectional view of the knit boxer short taken along line 5a 5a in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5b is a sectional view of the knit boxer short taken along line Sb-Sb in FIG. I; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the configuration of the fabric pieces that comprise the knit boxer short shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a boxer short embodying the present invention is indicated generally by the numeral 10. The boxer short 10 is formed from pieces of fabric that is preferably a knit fabric having a major direction of stretch and a minor direction of stretch. The boxer short I0 includes a rear panel 12, a left front panel 14a and a right front panel 14b. The front panels 14a and 14b have an internal fly opening 16. A facing panel 18 overlies a central portion of the front panels 14a and 14b and covers the internal fly opening I6. The facing panel 18 includes an external fly opening 20 positioned in a cooperative relationship with the internal fly opening 16.

The knit boxer short 10 preferably includes a shaped pouch section 22 for joining the front panels 14a and 14b and the facing panel 18 to the rear panel 12. The boxer short 10 also includes a waistband 24 in the trunk opening and legbands 26a and 26b in the leg openings of the short. Both the wasitband 24 and the legbands 26a and 26b are formed of an elastic material and are of a conventional construction.

The pattern for the pieces of fabric comprising the boxer short 10 is illustrated in FIG. 6. The pieces comprising the boxer short 10 include the front panels 14a and 14b, the rear panel 12 and the facing panel 18. The shaped pouch section 22 is formed from pouch segments 22a and 22b which are joined together to form the shaped pouch section. The pieces of fabric comprising the boxer short 10 are cut from a knit fabric having a major direction of stretch oriented in a lateral direction as indicated by the doubleheaded arrows arranged on the pattern. The lateral orientation of the major direction of stretch permits the boxer short 10 to flex with the body movements and expansions of the wearer. As a result, the boxer short 10 can provide a firm support while yielding for the comfort of the wearer.

The front panels 14a and 14b are mirror images of one another. Also, the pouch segments 22a and 22b are mirror images of one another.

The boxer short 10 is fabricated by joining together the central sides 28a and 28b of the front panels 14a and 14b but leaving an unjoined portion midway along the central sides to form the internal fly opening 16. The facing panel 18 is positioned centrally over the joined panels 14a and 14b and the vertical sides 30a and 30b of the facing panel are joined to the front panels 14a and 14b respectively. A midway portion of the vertical side 30b of the facing panel is left unjoined to form the external fly opening 20. However, it will be appreciated that the external fly opening 20 could be formed on either of the vertical edges 30a or 30b of the facing panel 18.

The pouch segments 22a and 22b are joined together to form the shaped pouch section 22. However, a single piece pouch section could be utilized in the boxer short 10. The top of shaped pouch section 22, as viewed in FIG. 6, is attached to the front panels 14a and 14b and the facing panel 18. The bottom portion of the shaped pouch section 22 is joined to the rear panel 12 to provide a crotch for the boxer short 10. The exterior sides 32a and 32b of the front panels 14a and 14b are joined to the sides 34a and 34b, respectively, of the rear panel 12. The fabrication of the knit boxer short 10 is completed by attaching the waistband 24 to the trunk opening of the short and by attaching the legbands 26a and 26b to the leg openings.

The facing panel 18 overlies substantially the onethird central portion of the front panels 14a and 14b to provide adequate concealment and coverage of the internal fly opening 16. The internal fly opening 16 is located midway along the central sides 28a and 28b of the front panels 14a and 14b. Also, the external fly opening is located midway along one of the vertical edges a and 30b of the facing panel 18 adjacent to the internal fly opening.

It is to be understood that various modifications can be made to the disclosed boxer short without departing from the scope of the invention and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A boxer short formed from a fabric having a major direction of stretch comprising:

a rear panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch;

a pair of front panels of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said front panels being joined along an exterior side thereof to said rear panel and being joined along a central side thereof to one another, the joined central sides of said front panels havinga nunjoined portion defining an internal fly opening; facing panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said facing panel being joined to said front panels along vertical edges thereof and overlying the internal fly opening in said front panels, one vertical side of said facing panel being unjoined along a portion thereof to define an external fly opening; and

a shaped pouch section of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said pouch being joined along said front panels and facing panel and along said back panel to form a crotch in said short, said facing panel extending from said pouch section to a top portion of said front panels.

2. The boxer short of claim I wherein said front panels are substantially mirror images of one another.

3. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein said facing panel overlies said front panels over substantially a central one-third portion of said front panels, said facing panel being centered over the internal fly opening in said front panels.

4. The boxer short of claim 3 wherein said shaped pouch section comprises two pouch segments joined together, said pouch segments being mirror images of one another.

5. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein said internal fly opening is positioned midway along the joined central sides of said front panels.

6. The knit boxer short of claim 5 wherein said external fly opening is positioned midway along said one ver tical side of said facing panel.

7. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein the vertical edges of said facing panel extends from said pouch section to the top portion of said front panels. 

1. A boxer short formed from a fabric having a major direction of stretch comprising: a rear panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch; a pair of front panels of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said front panels being joined along an exterior side thereof to said rear panel and being joined along a central side thereof to one another, the joined central sides of said front panels having an unjoined portion defining an interal fly opening; a facing panel of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said facing panel being joined to said front panels along vertical edges thereof and overlying the internal fly opening in said front panels, one vertical side of said facing panel being unjoined along a portion thereof to define an external fly opening; and a shaped pouch section of fabric having a laterally oriented major direction of stretch, said pouch being joined along said front panels and facing panel and along said back panel to form a crotch in said short, said facing panel extending from said pouch section to a top portion of said front panels.
 2. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein said front panels are substantially mirror images of one another.
 3. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein said facing panel overlies said front panels over substantially a central one-third portion of said front panels, said facing panel being centered over the internal fly opening in said front panels.
 4. The boxer short of claim 3 wherein said shaped pouch section comprises two pouch segments joined together, said pouch segments being mirror images of one another.
 5. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein said internal fly opening is positioned midway along the joined central sides of said front panels.
 6. The knit boxer short of claim 5 wherein said external fly opening is positioned midway along said one vertical side of said facing panel.
 7. The boxer short of claim 1 wherein the vertical edges of said facing panel extends from said pouch section to the top portion of said front panels. 